Down she went till the gauge indicated a depth of fifty-five feet, then regaining an even keel she forged slowly ahead, deliberately feeling her way through the black water.

A peculiar rasping, m.u.f.fled sound attracted d.i.c.k's attention. The Lieutenant-Commander heard it too. The two men exchanged glances.

"One line pa.s.sed," announced Huxtable when the noise ceased. "That was the mooring wire of one of the mines sc.r.a.ping along our protective girders."

Ten seconds later came a similar sound, this time overhead. The submarine was pa.s.sing under a horizontal bridle connecting two mines.

The arched girder saved her, for had the obstruction caught in the for'ard end of the conning-tower or the housed periscope, the "way" of the vessel would have swung the two mines together with annihilating effects. As it was, the Lieutenant-Commander merely depressed the boat's bows, and without any trouble the submerged craft glided underneath the cable of death.

"Two!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed the skipper laconically.

d.i.c.k's spirits rose rapidly. After all, he reasoned, diving under mines was an exciting form of sport, with very little danger. The operation seemed far less hazardous than running the gauntlet of The Narrows in the _Calder_.

Suddenly came the dull roar of an explosion. The submarine heeled dangerously, and quivered till it seemed that her plating was on the point of buckling.

Instinctively Crosthwaite grasped the hand-rail of the steel ladder leading to the conning-tower hatch-way. In any case it was a futile action, since there was no possible escape that way. He momentarily expected to hear the rush of water, driven under tremendous pressure into the shattered hull.

The submarine had come in contact with a mine.

CHAPTER XV

Disabled

Not a sound came from the lips of the crew. Holding on to what came nearest to hand, they steadied themselves until the submerged craft ceased her violent motion. To add to the horror of the situation, the concussion had broken most of the electric lamps, and practically the whole of the interior of the submarine was plunged into darkness, save for the fitful sparking of the electric motors.

Yet there was no irresistible inrush of the sea. Somewhere aft could be distinguished the hiss of water as a thin stream forced its way through a strained seam.

"She's stood it, lads!" exclaimed the Lieutenant-Commander cheerily.

Producing an electric torch from his pocket the skipper flashed it on the depth gauge. The indicator registered seventy feet, and the vessel was still descending.

"Stop both engines!" he ordered. "Blow auxiliary tanks!"

Slowly the downward movement ceased, and upon regaining a depth of sixty feet the order was given to "stand by".

"Starboard horizontal rudder has jibbed, sir," announced one of the crew.

"Bow diving-planes all right?" asked Huxtable.

"I think so, sir."

"Very good. h.e.l.lo! There's the fun about to commence."

The remark was caused by the m.u.f.fled sounds of bursting sh.e.l.l. The Turks, alarmed by the explosion, had opened a frantic fire upon the spot where the column of water, hurled high in the air by the detonation, had subsided.

"Let them waste their precious ammunition!" remarked the Lieutenant-Commander grimly. "We're as safe as houses here."

"Except that we haven't a back door," thought d.i.c.k, whose views upon the subject of mine-dodging had undergone a sudden and complete change.

Meanwhile one of the engine-room artificers had been busily engaged in fitting new lamps. Fortunately, none of the electric wiring had been damaged, and in a short s.p.a.ce of time the interior of the submarine was once more flooded with light.

Already the leak had been stopped, while examination showed that no serious damage had been done to the plating or framework.

"Can't understand how a mine was submerged to that depth," remarked Devereux, the Acting Sub-lieutenant of the submarine, to d.i.c.k, "unless it had become partially water-logged. We must have hit it fair and square. The skipper's patent gadget saved us."

"It won't do so again--at least, on the port side," said d.i.c.k. "I guess it's blown to blazes."

"Well, we'll see presently," rejoined Devereux. "When the Turks have finished this rumpus and we're a little farther on our weary way, we're going to ascend for a breather. It may be the last chance for a couple of days or so."

An hour later, having penetrated well into the Sea of Marmora, the skipper gave orders for the vessel to be brought awash. It wanted one hour and forty-five minutes to sunrise, so that in order to take advantage of the dark, the breathing-s.p.a.ce had to be limited to three-quarters of an hour--unless suddenly curtailed by the approach of any hostile craft.

The crew a.s.sembled on deck in watches, every man drinking in the pure night air--not that the atmosphere 'tween decks was impure, for, thanks to the chemical processes to safeguard the crew, the air was wholesome and capable of being endured without discomfort for days, should occasion arise. Nevertheless the gallant and daring men lost no chance of getting into the open air: for one reason, it economized the oxygen purifiers; for another, the men never knew when a similar chance might occur again.

While the submarine was running on the surface, thereby saving the dynamos, since she was being propelled by the petrol engines, opportunity was taken to examine the damage caused by the explosion of the mine.

It was found that one of the fore-and-aft girders had been shattered for a length of nearly fifteen feet, and some of the connecting braces and struts had been twisted and buckled. In addition, one of the horizontal rudders had been bent almost to a semicircle, a fact that accounted for the submarine's failure to maintain a given depth without use of the auxiliary ballast.

"Your device saved us, sir," remarked Crosthwaite. "Close contact with that mine would have pulverized the plating."

"Yes, it has," a.s.sented Huxtable. "But unfortunately it wouldn't serve its purpose a second time if we found a mine in the same spot. More than that, the shattered girder is an enc.u.mbrance. Instead of warding off the mooring wire of an anch.o.r.ed mine, that jagged projection would foul it, for a moral cert. It will have to come off while we've a chance. We must also unship the damaged rudder and do our best to bend it straight again. If we cannot, it would be better to do without it, and rely upon the port horizontal rudder and the two bow diving-planes."

"Will it interfere with the manoeuvring of the vessel?" asked d.i.c.k.

"Certainly, but only to a certain extent. We won't be able to dive so promptly, but that is all. Needless to say I would rather get the thing ship-shape, if it can be done."

While the artificers were busily engaged in cutting away the after portion of the damaged girder, and rounding off the broken part that terminated nearly abaft the after quick-firing gun, others of the crew rigged up a pair of sheerlegs and proceeded to unship the injured rudder, the engines being stopped and the submarine trimmed by its head to enable this to be done.

It was soon evident that the men at their disposal were not sufficient to straighten out the buckled plate. It was a job which would have to be undertaken at Malta Dockyard, should the submarine have the good fortune to return from her hazardous mission.

"Hard lines!" muttered Huxtable. Then aloud he exclaimed: "Pa.s.s the thing below, lads; what can't be cured must be endured."

The useless rudder was lowered through the torpedo hatch, all lights below being switched off during the operation, lest a stray beam should reveal the presence of the British craft to an alert hostile ship or battery.

Presently one of the artificers appeared and saluted the Lieutenant-Commander.

"Is that you, Parsons?" asked the latter, for in the gloom he was unable to distinguish the petty officer's features.

"Yes, sir," replied the artificer. "I'd like to make a suggestion, sir, about that damaged rudder."

"Carry on, then."

"We've a piece of steel plating in the engine-room--a part of the floor over the lubricating-oil tanks. It's just about the size of the rudder--a question of a few inches either way at the very outside. I thought we might perhaps drill it, and use the braces that came off the old rudder."

"How long will it take you?" asked the skipper.